Sometimes I think we all have an either/or gremlin in our minds: Either you read scripture or you do a meditation practice; either samsara or nirvana; either you keep the rules or you break them; either a layman or a monk; either mindful or confused; either compassionate or angry; either this or that .... It goes on and on whether talking out loud or keeping it secret. Either/or.

But I always liked the story about the Korean Zen teacher Soen Sa Nimh, who was once asked, so to speak, at a public meeting, "Sometimes when I meditate, I feel like such a schmuck." And Soen Sa Nimh replied, "You're either a Buddha or a schmuck -- there is no in-between."

And that's the way it seems to be -- you either see through the "in-between" or you end up as some silly Buddha or schmuck. Either/or strikes me as a good, tentative route. But the emphasis needs to be on the word "tentative." Hammers are tentatively useful when you want to pound a nail, but you wouldn't lug a hammer around all day long, right?

The heart of the path is SO simple. No need for long explanations. Give up clinging to love and hate, just rest with things as they are. That is all I do in my own practice. Do not try to become anything. Do not make yourself into anything. Do not be a meditator. Do not become enlightened. When you sit, let it be. When you walk, let it be. Grasp at nothing. Resist nothing. Of course, there are dozens of meditation techniques to develop samadhi and many kinds of vipassana. But it all comes back to this - just let it all be. Step over here where it is cool, out of the battle. - Ajahn Chah

The heart of the path is SO simple. No need for long explanations. Give up clinging to love and hate, just rest with things as they are. That is all I do in my own practice. Do not try to become anything. Do not make yourself into anything. Do not be a meditator. Do not become enlightened. When you sit, let it be. When you walk, let it be. Grasp at nothing. Resist nothing. Of course, there are dozens of meditation techniques to develop samadhi and many kinds of vipassana. But it all comes back to this - just let it all be. Step over here where it is cool, out of the battle. - Ajahn Chah